To Have What It Takes
by KittyWillCutYou
Summary: Chiori has always drawn the monsters of her dreams to help alleviate her fears...but what if they were more real than she was willing to believe? Strange happenings begin to occur throughout her home town and an approaching war threatens to turn her world completely on its head. The monsters are real and it's only going to get worse... (Mainly adventure, mild romance/comedy, UA)


**Firstly, just so we're clear, I DO NOT claim any ownership of Bleach or any of its CANON characters nor any of the music that may be used/referenced. Those rights belong to Tite Kubo and any other artists that apply, respectively.**

**Moving on...**

**So, this is the story (that I may have mentioned to some people way-back-when) that I am finally, _finally _starting.**

**Initially, I never planned on actually doing anything major with my OC, Chiori or the ideas that I had in my head for her. She was mainly just used for crack fiction and what not but eventually I decided that she needed more.**

**She originally went by a completely different name but for plausibility's sake, I decided it needed to be changed. I want this story to be as plausible and as in character as I can possibly make it...so while I will try to incorporate humor as I go along don't expect the craziness of 'Little Things' or some of my other works. I plan for this adventure to be funny and painful and maybe even a bit scary.**

**Also, so that I don't trip anyone up, let me establish that this OC, Chiori, is mute and has been so for much of her life.**

"Blah, blah" **for when everyone else talks**

_"Blah, blah"_ **for whenever she signs, gestures, mouths, etc.**

_Blah, blah_** for inner thoughts and musings.**

**UA - UNIVERSE ALTERATIONS. You'll figure it out!**

* * *

Children are curious creatures.

The need to explore the world around them is almost impossible for them to ignore…even if the need to explore brings along with it the possibility that their lives may end before they have even truly began.

Luckily, in times like these, the possibility of death as a result of straying too far from one's home is severely lessened. Well, at least, we would like to think that way wouldn't we? The truth is that instead of the threat of becoming a meal for some larger, stronger creature out there in the dark as per the circle of life, you have to worry about other, more horrible things.

You worry about other people, other people whose only want in the world is to make someone else suffer and die for no reason other than their own enjoyment. Or perhaps they feel that killing something else is the only way to satiate a pain that comes from deep within them. When faced with entities like these, what does your body tell you to do?

Run.

Humans are animals at their core and no matter what we would like to think, one instinct that has been ingrained since our very beginnings is the need to keep ourselves alive. That is what this child's mind was telling her, not on the intricate and controversial subject of life and death, what it means, but that she _needed_ to run. And run she did. Until her little legs burned beneath her minuscule weight, until her eyes watered, streaming down her flushed cheeks.

For fear is the catalyst.

She ran because she knew that whatever was chasing her wanted to do horrible, horrible things to her. And though she knew nothing of death...except that to die would mean 'rest' like the adults were always telling her, she knew that she did not want to die. What chased her embodied the monsters of fairytales…and it wanted to eat her. She knew this deep in her soul.

So she ran.

Her lungs burned in her chest and she could hear it laughing at her…taunting her. It wanted to eat her. It wanted to eat her. Oh god, it wanted to tear her apart, break her bones, _eat her._

She sobbed raggedly; no longer able to see where she was going, though the girl could barely see anything to begin with. Sweat beaded her brow, burned her eyes and ran down her back in rivulets. She stumbled, flailing uselessly in the darkness before falling on her face in the middle of naked tree roots and mud created by frequent rains.

The little girl lay there for a moment, panting and sobbing into the dirt, wailing for her parents, especially her mother who'd died less than a week before.

She did not know anything of death, not really, only what people were always telling her. But she knew now that what she had been told was a lie. What she'd been told was only what was thought to make it easier for a child her age to accept, because for her, there was no true rest in death, only separation.

The monster's footsteps shook the earth, and sent tremors through her little body like small earthquakes. They made her heart stutter and in an act of desperation she attempted to clamber to her feet. She tried to run but it was already too late…it grabbed her by the ankle and suddenly the world was upside down.

She's cried raggedly as it examined her, its face split in a wide grin and its eyes so red and pupilless. It laughed at her fear.

The monster's jaws opened wide and for a moment the girl thought she was going to be sick because of how deep that dark cavern of a mouth looked.

She shut her eyes and screamed and the monster…roared with her.

* * *

Chiori came awake with a jolt at the sound of her name being called. The sound of the teacher's voice, which was fine on most days, was for the moment the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. Her temples throbbed and she carded a hand through her black locks, noting the sweat on her brow with trepidation.

She was still clutching her pencil and a near-finished drawing lay on the desk before her. The teacher continued to call her but Chiori ignored it in favor of taking stock of her surroundings and the staring faces of her classmates.

She'd been sleeping in class again, having nightmares if you wanted to get specific. The nightmares were not so unusual and neither was the fact that she often couldn't even remember what the one she'd just had was even been about. The worst ones were the ones where she lost her senses, sometimes all of them and sometimes only one.

She already couldn't speak so she didn't dream of losing her voice but that little detail was only a small part of a much bigger picture. It was the dreams themselves and all that they did and did not contain that mattered.

The dreams were always so terrifying to Chiori, like she was fading away or falling apart.

It feels to her like being erased.

Chiori stared at the unfinished monster on her desk when a hand gently placed itself on hers. She flinched, snatching her hand away and cradling it to her chest as if it had been burned. It was the teacher, Ms. Akita, who'd touched Chiori, worry in her eyes and a frown pulling at the corners of her slightly chapped, pink lips.

Chiori noted that the older woman had developed a habit of chewing her lips when she was nervous or worried about something.

Ms. Akita was a nice woman, especially to Chiori, and though she appreciated the fact that Ms. Akita cared, she didn't really want to talk to the woman about her feelings let alone the reason she looked so spooked at the moment. It was all way too embarrassing. Unfortunately, Chiori knew that at some point her teacher might tell Chiori's father about her little episodes if they got too frequent and try to get her to talk about them.

That couldn't happen of course, because Chiori had already told her dad that she wasn't having any more nightmares.

So, that just couldn't happen.

In her frustration she slapped her forehead and sighed, sliding her palm down her face. "Chiori," asked Ms. Akita. "Are you alright?"

Chiori nodded her head and was so glad that her bangs covered her eyes so well. "Well, that's good." Ms. Akita continued. "In that case could you please explain to me why you're sleeping in my class?"

She knew her teacher expected some type of answer right then and there but Chiori decided instead to wait the woman out in those last few seconds of class just before the bell rang. The rest of the kids were up in a heartbeat, scrambling for their stuff and hurrying out of the classroom as if their lives depended on it.

Chiori might have laughed at them all but a curious look from Keiji, a brown haired, dark-eyed boy who'd been her best friend since Elementary school, drew her attention away from fleeing students. "What the hell was that?" Keiji whispered as he grabbed his bags and stood up, motioning for her to follow after him.

She shoved her sketchbook into her bag and hurried after him, the teacher's eyes glued to her back the entire time. Ms. Akita had experience with Chiori's little moments but she only knew as much as what she'd been told by the girl's father, Isshin Kurosaki.

You see, Chiori's a mute.

Apparently about six years ago there was an 'accident' or so says her father. It didn't necessarily make the papers but that didn't stop people from finding out about it; a little girl gone missing. It was just a week after the girl's mother died, as if that family wasn't already dealing with enough problems.

They found Chiori, obviously, but the damage had already been done. The poor thing was so traumatized she refused to speak and hadn't since. What Ms. Akita didn't know was that whatever trauma Chiori experienced manifested itself in the form of nightmares, nightmares that Chiori usually, thankfully didn't always remember. On the occasion that she did, however, often left her virtually petrified until she could shake it off.

Communication was not impossible, thankfully. Chiori spoke primarily in JSL (Japanese Sign Language) and decided to learn ASL (American Sign Language) for personal reasons. She took English in school as a second language which made reading and writing it a lot easier. Apparently she had a good handle on it for the most part…

Chiori and Keiji took the long way home that day, something they did just to make the walks last a little longer.

When she caught up with him, she bumped his shoulder with her own, a grin on her face that he returned after a quick roll of his eyes. Keiji was one of the few close friends Chiori had besides a few others. It wasn't that people didn't like her, she just found it difficult to get close at times and strangers made her a little shy. It didn't help that some people were superstitious about others with disabilities and tended to…handle her a bit differently.

Keiji was different though. He was never bothered by her silence or the stories that some kids passed around about her because, unlike some, he'd actually taken the time to get to know her.

"So what was that?" he inquired, heading in front of Chiori a bit so that he could turn around and walk backwards. She swiped one of her bangs from her eye, briefly revealing the small, red, star-shaped stud piercing in her ear and shrugged with a shake of her head. Over the years Keiji had gotten particularly good at reading and interpreting Chiori. His lips twisted a bit at her answer but he didn't dwell on it for too long. "Well, what were you drawing before you fell asleep?"

Chiori looked confused for a moment before she remembered and reached towards the messenger bag hanging against her left hip.

Keiji swung around to Chiori's opposite side and hovered over her shoulder while she searched her sketchbook for the monstrosity she'd been drawing earlier. When she found it, she folded the sketchbook over on itself so that it was easier to hold and tilted it so that Keiji could have a good look. "Wow." He mumbled and Chiori smiled. The beast ate up nearly the entire page and she'd used a good bit of her black ink in the process of it all**,** which was unfortunate but expected.

After all, black ink usually went the quickest.

For about as long as Chiori could remember, she'd drawn whatever came to mind, whenever she could. She usually drew monsters, big ones, but most of them were just big masses of black. Some of them were unfinished because she couldn't make out what their faces were supposed to look like but that didn't stop her from hanging them all over the walls of her room.

The beast in her sketchbook was frozen mid-roar, tearing its mouth open so wide it looked like the thick white flesh would split along what passed for its cheeks. Seeing it on paper sent a chill through Chiori's body that she attempted to ignore all together.

"You okay?"

Keiji looked worried, craning his neck so that he could get a good look at her face after she'd lowered it a bit in embarrassment. She waved it off, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear and moving away from him a couple of inches because he was suddenly a bit too close for comfort.

Keiji didn't buy it of course but knew better than to try and call her on it. He knew Chiori would ignore him if he did.

The sketchbook was closed with a snap as they came round the bend that lead to her street. The walk wasn't very long from home to school and vice-versa, but Keiji always insisted that he walked with Chiori whenever he could. He said it was to make sure she was safe, but the walk honestly wasn't all that long.

She figured she could take care of herself for the most part, but it was not like she actually minded the company.

The weather was nice, surprisingly warm and a stray breeze blew the stubborn lock of hair Chiori had tucked behind her ear free again. Honestly, she'd thought about cutting her hair**,** but didn't think she'd be able to go through with it at the moment. She decided she'd miss it too much even if it was troublesome at times. "I'll see you later Chiori." said Keiji, tossing her another boyish grin.

Chiori returned the smile and for some reason couldn't stop nor deny the flush in her cheeks. Keiji must have noticed because he chuckled right before he waved and began to head to his own home somewhere farther away. She rolled her eyes and sighed, pushing open the gate in front of her house and fishing for her keys in her messenger bag so that she could unlock the front door.

The keys jingled as Chiori worked the doorknob, silver rings and little glass beads reflected scattering afternoon light. She shouldered her way into the house, whistling shrilly as she toed off her shoes to let people know that she was home.

She knew that it would be a while before her older brother, Ichigo, got home. Even after he'd left school he usually took all types of little detours. Of course, Chiori didn't really know where he was always wandering off to but she didn't really think on it too much. As long as Ichigo came home alright, Chiori didn't see the point in worrying about it despite the fact that people were always picking fights with him over something or another.

"Onee-chan, is that you?" asked Yuzu, calling from her room.

Chiori could hear the twins upstairs, probably changing out of their day-clothes or something. They always got home before she did. "I'll be down to start dinner in a minute." said Yuzu. Chiori honestly didn't want Yuzu to start rushing just because she was home**; **she could just eat a little snack to tide herself over.

"SWEETY~!"

And obviously her father was home.

In an instant Chiori was swept up and spun in dizzying circles as her father babbled excitedly about something or another. Her long black hair was a bird's nest by the time he put her down but she was so used to it by then it was easy to ignore for the most part.

Once she'd been set down Chiori tossed her hair with a gasp and eyed her dad, trying to fight down her own smile.

"_Hey dad." _she gestured, mouthing the words simultaneously.

"All of my beautiful girls are home!" cried Isshin. "The only one still out and about is my irresponsible son Ichigo and his room's a mess to boot! He'll be late for dinner again so I'll just have to greet him at the door."

He sounded absolutely devious, a twinkle in his eyes as he more than likely thought of all the wonderful ways he could mess with Ichigo once the poor kid got home.

Amused by her father's antics and anticipating more to come, Chiori waved to her other younger sister**,** Karin**,** and then snuck off to her room for a while, at least until dinner was ready. She needed her music and the sanctity of her room in order to properly unwind.

A short, narrow set of stairs lead up to what was considered the third floor of the house, a sort of combination between a bedroom and storage space. It was cozy and warm with just enough room to be comfortable considering the space-conscious design of most homes. Part of the ceiling slanted sharply downward with a number of small windows lining it and the very top of the low wall beneath it. The head of her bed rested just beneath the slant with the foot near the doorway.

There were extra dressers pre-built into the boxing of her bed to make up for what she didn't have in her dresser and nightstand, which was extremely convenient when one took the time to think about it. The farthest wall from the doorway hid storage space, which Isshin took advantage of when necessary, boxing away extra supplies, nick-knacks, sentimental items, and even some of Chiori's own belongings that weren't readily needed.

Of course the man had plenty of storage space himself but that didn't stop some things from winding up there anyway. Not that Chiori was complaining**,** for she was more than content as long as she had her sketchbook and her music.

Music was one of the most beautiful things in the world to Chiori; it kept her calm and quelled any anxieties or irritations that may have plagued her. It was one of the reasons she considered her MP3 _one_ of her most precious possessions.

In her nightmares she lost her senses**, **but at least with her music**-** when it was too quiet for her to bear for too long**-** at least she knew she could hear. At least when she drew in her sketchbook she knew that she could still see. Chiori pulled the strap of her bag over her head with a sigh of relief and settled it on her bed before digging through it.

Chiori pulled her sketchbook from its confines and flipped to the page with the monster she drew in class. Her fingertips hovered adoringly over the surface of the page before tearing it out in a flourish and holding it up before her eyes. She stared at it, more specifically at the monster's teeth, before finding the artist's tape she often used to pin it to her wall with all the others.

Monsters weren't the only things decorating her walls; she also had people, places, and objects. Some of them were photographs**,** but most of them were drawn by hand. Many of the sketches of people were ones of family and friends, smiling, laughing, and sleeping. They were all very beautiful to Chiori.

She smiled once she'd placed the picture on her wall, smoothing her hand along the edges and being careful not to smudge anything.

She hated it when drawings got smudged, a small pet peeve of hers but she usually found ways to avoid it like placing a napkin underneath her hand when she drew. Chiori pulled open her laptop, the one she'd won a couple years ago in an art competition, and typed in her password with a flourish. Music began to play from the small set of speakers that were plugged into it; the same song she'd been listening to before she'd shut it and ran off to school.

But that's not what she wanted to hear right then. She brought up her playlist and searched for something else, tapping her fingers rhythmically and biting her bottom lip until she found what she was looking for…

_And let me peer inside  
Let me in  
Where only your thoughts have been  
Let me occupy your mind  
As you do mine_

_Pick apart  
The pieces of your heart_

Chiori grinned, her hands sliding slowly away from her laptop and moving to sway slowly over her head with a swing of her hips. She had plenty of time before dinner started, enough time to get undressed and into something much more comfortable than her school uniform.

_Your heart's a mess  
You won't admit to it  
It makes no sense  
But I'm desperate to connect  
You can't live like this_

She shut her eyes.

The shirt was the first to go, button by button, sliding off her shoulders only to be thrown away without a care in sync with the slow tempo of the music. She would never have dreamed of behaving the way she did then in public but in the safety of her room she was free to do as she pleased…

The skirt was next.

_You don't get burned  
('Cause nothing gets through)  
It makes it easier  
(Easier on you)  
But that much more difficult for me  
To make you see…_

The material was flung away and left forgotten in some lonely corner of Chiori's room. The poor piece of clothing had been worn too many times in a row already she decided and needed to be washed. Her hips swung to the beat as she moved back over towards her bed, sliding her hands through her hair and flipping to a fresh page in her sketchbook. She took two thick locks of her hair and tied them behind her head before grabbing the rest and tucking it all over knot she'd made.

It stayed well enough**,** but she secured it with a few color pencils just to be sure most of it stayed out of her face. She decided to forsake her pens for today, flopping onto her bed in nothing but her knickers and knee-high socks with a freshly sharpened pencil in hand.

Her taste in music was extremely diverse and she reveled in it, tapping her pencil against her chin and settling her sketchbook in front of her so that she could decide exactly how and what she wanted to draw. Eventually she shrugged and rolled her head on her shoulders before just getting to it.

It wasn't long before she immersed herself.

Who knew how long she'd been laying there; Chiori definitely had no idea herself. By the time she'd come back to reality she could hear yelling from downstairs. No doubt Ichigo had come home**,** only to be greeted and harasses by their father.

There was never a dull day in their house.

Now that she thought about it, Yuzu had probably finished making dinner long ago and even made it known. Chiori sighed and got up from her bed with way more effort put into it than she'd have liked to admit. Her spine popped as she grudgingly found herself a pair of shorts to pull on before making her way downstairs where she could hear Ichigo and their father making a big fuss.

She didn't acknowledge either of the men in the house at first, heading to the table where Karin and Yuzu were already sitting, conversing silently to them with her fingers. It was a quick greeting and Chiori didn't take the time to sit while she watched Isshin and Ichigo have at it in front of the door. She spooned rice into her mouth and stared, huffing a bit under her breath as Ichigo sent their dad flying with a well-placed punch to the face.

"First of all, making a healthy high school student come home at seven every night is unimagi-"Ichigo's rant was cut off by Karin informing him of another spirit hanging over his shoulder. Apparently he hadn't noticed it.

It seemed that everyone in the house, except Isshin and Chiori could detect spirits, even Yuzu**-** though she could only sense their presence a bit.

'At least I'm not the odd one out.' thought Chiori with a shrug as she watched her brother ascend the stairs to the upper levels in a huff. Yuzu attempted to call him back down but her words fell on deaf ears.

"It's your fault, dad." said Karin, mostly indifferent, Chiori and Yuzu nodding quickly in agreement.

"He's been having a tough time lately." said Yuzu and Karin continued where her twin left off. "Now that you mention it, he said he's seeing them a lot more lately." Isshin looked surprised, which baffled Chiori considering the fact they all know Ichigo wouldn't come to Isshin about it. The man was in his forties and still behaved like a child. It was as if Karin took the words right out of Chiori's mind when the dark haired twin said the same.

Isshin didn't seem to take it well, blubbering and running off to complain to the large poster of their mother, Masaki, about his girls being 'mean'. It was silly but expected and Chiori rolled her eyes at her father's antics. She finished off her food and bid everyone goodnight, giving Yuzu a kiss on the cheek before heading off to bed.

Not that Chiori actually planned on going to sleep just yet.

She had some drawings that she needed to finish before she fell asleep that night or they'd keep her up. The music from her laptop had switched to something else, something softer. Hopefully she finished quickly or she wouldn't be getting much rest before morning.

* * *

"The scene is one block past Kamakura Station Blvd…and according to nearby residents…at around 7:30 A.M…"

When morning came, everyone was already awake and going about their usual routine. The television was on, a low drone as the news broadcasted the events of an accident that had taken place not far from their home. "Ohaiyo, nii-chan!" chirped Yuzu form behind the counter. Ichigo greeted her in kind and grabbed a piece of toast from the toaster as he came into the room. Their father had left much earlier for a meeting and apparently, according to Karin, wouldn't be home that night.

The news on the television drew Ichigo's attention suddenly, his breakfast dangling from between his teeth though Chiori would have teased him about crumbs had she been present. "That's nearby." He mumbled. "Where's Chiori?" Karin took another sip of her tea and eyed Ichigo briefly. "She left a bit earlier today." replied Karin. "She wanted to meet up with Keiji before school, probably so they'd have time to hang around. You know how they are."

It was true that Chiori was out of house much earlier that morning than usual. She'd been sent a text from Keiji stating he wanted her to meet him so that they could have a glimpse at the mayhem ensuing near Kamakura Station. Nothing but morbid curiosity on Keiji's part and Chiori had agreed on a mere whim. The two curious teens got as close as they possibly could but the hordes of people paused in equal curiosity made it rather difficult to see anything.

Eventually, both children went on their way, after all they did still have school. "What do you think caused the explosion?" Keiji wondered, glancing over his shoulder at the people who were slowly growing farther and farther away. Chiori had no idea herself but something about that area made her feel a bit ill.

Suddenly, Chiori felt a tremble beneath her feet and she stumbled only for Keiji to catch her under the arm. "Are you alright?" questioned Keiji's concerned voice, suddenly sounding far away to Chiori's ears. She shook her head and tried to right herself, a heavy sickness twisting deep in her belly. She wanted nothing more than to get as far away from the destruction as she possibly could though she had no true idea why.

"Chiori," the urgency in Keiji's voice brought her back to reality again and steadied Chiori's jelly-like legs. _"We need to get going."_ She gestured with her fingers, pulling away from her friend's hands and smoothing out the navy-blue skirt of her uniform. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, placing a hand on her back. Chiori nodded and began to walk forward once again. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on but she knew that they would both be better off getting as far away as possible.

…before _something_ happened.

* * *

**R&R**

**Song used: 'Hearts A mess' by Goyte**


End file.
